Towelettes, or wipes, find multiple uses in a bathroom or lavatory. In addition to housekeeping use, they can be used to cleanse or dry skin. Dry wipes are sometimes inadequate, however, when sensitive or stubbornly soiled skin is involved. Wet wipes are needed for this purpose but are rarely in a handy location, particularly when a need arises at the toilet. Wet wipes require container storage to protect against evaporative losses. The containers are generally placed on a surface remote from the handy wall location of the toilet tissue roll and may not be within reach for a person in need at the toilet.
The prior art lacks a comprehensive solution. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,503,326 to Mikelionis, two rolls, one dry and one wet, are placed side-by-side on the customary toilet roll spool. Each roll is folded so that it is half width, and presumably, half length as well. Because they share the same spool, dispensing one potentially moves the other synchronously. The biggest problem, however, is that the consumer is forced to buy specially-configured toilet tissue at a premium to the ubiquitous, and commodity-priced, toilet tissue roll.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,960 to Marino avoids synchronous movement by placing dry and wet rolls in two separate but connected containers. The containers are suspended in a conventional wall bracket above and below a toilet roll spool. While hinged covers give access to the rolls, continually lifting the covers can be a nuisance. Also, the containers take up space, which can be at a premium near a toilet. To further the inconvenience, the equipment involves an installation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,822 to Boone teaches placement of a roll of wet tissues inside of a drum-like container located in the core of a toilet roll. The drum-like container replaces the conventional wall bracket spool. While this solution provides a handy location and a good utilization of space, there are several deficiencies. Boone does not teach a means for separating individual sheets. Also, the leading end of the tissue exposed through the slit-like opening in the end of the drum would act like a wick to dry out the moisture inside of the drum. Lastly, because the drum is immobilized, and because toilet roll cores are notoriously out-of-round, there is a risk that the toilet roll will bind on the drum while unwinding.
These shortcomings are addressed by the novel solutions of the present invention.